Laptops & Mobiles Left in Taxis

Research shows that almost 31,544 mobile phones have been left in New York Yellow Cabs in the last six months

CREDANT Technologies, the market leader in mobile data protection solutions, today announced survey results that indicate passengers in New Yorks Yellow Taxicabs have left behind a staggering 31,544 mobile phones (thats over 2 per taxi) and 2,752 other handheld devices such as laptops, iPods and memory sticks over the last six months.

The survey was carried out at the same time in both London and New York and highlights that New Yorkers and Londoners are both as work-obsessed as one another. Cab drivers reported that passengers spend almost half their time (44%) catching up on work, either by being on the phone or email. Unfortunately too many of these mobile devices are left behind in the back seat of the cab. The survey in New York polled 300 licensed yellow cab drivers to gauge the frequency and ease with which mobile devices are left behind and to highlight the issue that encryption is one of the preferred forms of protection to prevent unauthorized users from accessing critical data at any point.

Weve become too complacent about losing personal information. This is a warning to the business community and individuals to be vigilant when travelling with mobile devices especially as more people are using the latest range of must have mobile smartphones to store large amounts of sensitive personal and business information, stated Michael Callahan, Chief Marketing Officer at CREDANT Technologies.

Many of these devices now have the capacity to store as much as 10,000 Word documents, 11,000 pictures, 500,000 contact details or an amazing 1.1 million emails, making them an obvious target for identity theft criminals and hackers who can steal this information and assume the identity of the user both in their personal or business life.

Nearly two-thirds of cab drivers reported that mobile phone owners were reunited with devices found at the back of cabs. In London the chance of getting a mobile device back was much better than NY with 80% of cab drivers handing them into their depots or personally contacting the owners themselves.

It is clear that none of us are infallible. Its easy to forget things when youre travelling it used to be an umbrella, now its more likely a mobile phone or and other storage device that contains highly sensitive information, Callahan said. Its only when youve lost a mobile device containing your personal information and contacts, or your companys data, that you really understand how disastrous it can be. Our advice is to encrypt all information on these devices to prevent access by anyone other than you.

Not just mobiles forgottenbut a sawn-off shotgun, a couple of kids, 12 dead pheasants, 2 dogs, 1 cat, toilet seats and more When the cabbies were asked to recall what the strangest objects were that theyd found at the back of their cabs they reported that it wasnt uncommon for people to leave their most precious possessions, including their kids, a drunken wife left as a tip, $2,700 which apparently made its way back to the owners, and 12 dead pheasants. Other articles left behind included firearms, prosthetic devices, and pets.

Notes:

The survey figures were based on 300 New York yellow licensed taxi drivers and extrapolated amongst 13,087 yellow licensed taxi cabs in Manhattan New York. In London the figures were based on interviews with 300 London licensed taxi drivers and then extrapolated amongst the number of licensed taxi cabs in London which is 21,729 (according to the Public Carriage Office September 2008).

CREDANT has been recognized by Inc. magazine as the #1 fastest growing security software company in 2008 and 2007; was selected by Red Herring as one of the top 100 privately held companies and top 100 Innovators; and was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Austin Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Crescendo Ventures, Intel Capital, and Cisco Systems are investors in CREDANT Technologies.

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